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Ding Dong

WASHINGTON - President Bush's immigration plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants while fortifying the border collapsed in the Senate on Thursday, crushing both parties' hopes of addressing the volatile issue before the 2008 elections.

The Senate vote to drive a stake through the delicate compromise was a stinging setback for Bush — who had made reshaping immigration laws a centerpiece of his domestic agenda — engineered by members of his own party.

It could carry heavy political consequences for Republicans and Democrats, many of whom were eager to show they could act on a complex issue of great interest to the public.

"Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people and Congress' failure to act on it is a disappointment," a grim-faced president said after an appearance in Newport, R.I. "A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find common ground. It didn't work."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., his party's lead negotiator on the bill, called its defeat "enormously disappointing for Congress and for the country." But, he added: "We will be back. This issue is not going away."

It isn't mentioned in this news article but Ted "The Lifeguard" Kennedy was later bloviating to the media about this POS legislation being staked through the heart by trying to equate this to the Civil Rights fight back in the 1960's. Uh....yeah Ted....have another double Scotch on the rocks, will ya?

Sorry, this isn't even close to being anything like fighting for 'equal rights' - this was a lame attempt to curry favor with the Hispanic voting block (if there really is one) right before everyone 'gets down to business' for the 2008 election. Now as to why President Bush would be pushing this hard-core....I dunno. I can only think that he's trying to make some 'positive' impact to be linked to the legacy of his presidency. I sort of, kind of understand....but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to call BULLSHIT on this one Mr. President and it'll apply to you and all of those Senators with an 'R' beside their names that were also pushing this in the Senate.

And to those that were pushing this and calling people like me 'bigots' and all sorts of other vile crap for expressing our opinions on this, just remember this:

Paybacks are a BITCH!!

You want to get on my 'good side'? Seal the border and actually try to maintain the sovereignty of this nation.

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Poor Pelosi and Reid et al. They have YET to pass any sort of meaningful legislation in either the House or the Senate. So much for the fabulous first 100 days. Thus far, I'm underwhelmed... and apparently so is the rest of the US, as is shown in their current approval rating of 13%. So glad they took over...things are SO much better now.

June 15, 2007

No Hablo Telemundo

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a gathering of Hispanic journalists that immigrants should avoid Spanish-language media if they want to learn English quickly.

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and avoid Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster," Schwarzenegger said.

"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, and I'm going to get myself in trouble," he said, noting that he rarely spoke German and was forced to learn English when he emigrated from Austria.

Schwarzenegger was responding to a question about how Hispanic students can improve academically. Many journalists for Spanish-language organizations in the audience were surprised by the remarks.

"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that," said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

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LOVE the caveman reference...lol.

I'd heard about the Governator's statements...and applaud them loudly. I'm so glad he said it. It's the TRUTH. Sometimes...the truth isn't sweet and lovely. The man is saying to acclimate to the country that you live in people. Learn our language. You don't have to forget your own, but you came HERE...we didn't go to your country. Learn our ways. Learn our language. Become bilingual and make yourself more valuable in the work force! Multi linguists are intelligent...in a round about way, he is complimenting those who are learning a new language.

I suppose the fact that he didn't have the German language resources that Hispanics have en espanol these days completely mitigates the fact that he speaks English better than 95% of recent Hispanic immigrants?

"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that," said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Yeah, what would Ah-nuld know anout immigrating to another country and learning the language and stuff. How do you say "Pull your head out, Alex Nogales" in spanish ?

They probably expected him to say that we need to provide more Spanish-speaking teachers in our public schools, and that academic materials need to be translated.

That Nogales idiot couldn't me more wrong-- immigrants in general need to learn English to stay informed and function well in this society. Why should immigrants from south of the border be any different than an immigrant from, say, Austria?

June 08, 2007

Working Against the Blue Angels?

SAN FRANCISCO - The annual aerial show by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels — a San Francisco tradition dating back to 1981 that pumps millions into the local economy — is running into opposition from three local peace advocacy groups that are calling for a permanent halt to the popular Fleet Week flyover.

CodePink, Global Exchange and Veterans for Peace, Chapter 69, are working with Supervisor Chris Daly on a Board of Supervisors resolution to address concerns over the Blue Angels.

Daly acknowledged he is considering a call to halt the flyovers because, he said, “they seem dangerous and unnecessary.” Daly said he plans on introducing the resolution as early as Tuesday, but is still drafting the language. A resolution is not legally binding, but states a board position.

The Blue Angels, a team of navy fighter pilots, fly over San Francisco during Fleet Week, which this year is scheduled for Oct. 4 through Oct. 9. For four of the six days, the flashy blue- and yellow-striped planes soar through the skies over the northern waterfront at speeds reaching 700 miles per hour, and perform such maneuvers as vertical rolls. As part of the show, six planes group together in tight formation to perform deft maneuvers.

The Blue Angels have 35 air shows scheduled in 2007 in various U.S. locations. Last year, more than 15 million people watched the fighter pilots.

Since it's in San Francisco, I (almost) expect this type of inane crap, but I'd LMAO if they tried that here in San Diego....

This is probably the one time that I'm 'happy' (or not concerned) that my father passed away back in 1988 - this is exactly the type of crap that would kill him.....either by a heart attack since he flew with the team or by asphyxiation from laughing his ass off.

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June 06, 2007

D-Day: Crisis On Omaha

Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the invasion of Europe - D-Day, June 6, 1944.

For months and years everyone knew that it would happen sooner or later. Even the Germans knew that it would be coming around the corner and probably the only person on their side that wasn't aware of the significance of it was Hitler himself.

Everyone with a pulse on the planet knew that the invasion would eventually happen and that it would be a long, hard day - for everyone involved.

But I've always wondered just how F-ed up it would be if reported by today's MSM. And here's my (and your) chance to take a sneak-peek into this 'alternate universe'....

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Nuts for Jerico

Back in April, I posted about a television show that I'd recently started watching and was 'hooked' on - that show being 'Jerico'.

And as I feared - because *I* liked the show and the rest of the family was looking forward to watching it in re-runs that I thought would soon be happening, what happens? Freakin CBS cancels the show due to poor ratings.

Poor ratings?

All I'll say about the ratings scheme is that the Neilsen rating system is complete crap and about 30 years old. And I feared they'd cancel this show because it was IMHO good and that the big three networks CBS, ABC, and NBC have for decades started and subsequently cancelled shows that the audiences loved. Of course, why should they act/react so differently, especially since they're always whining about the competition with cable networks.

Anyways....Michelle Malkin posted something that I wasn't aware was happening - a concerted movement to get CBS to keep the series running:

Lots of readers keep e-mailing me about the campaign to save the CBS show, "Jericho." I've never watched it, but readers tell me it's a conservative-friendly program. Paul M. e-mails: "This show was about a devastating nuclear terrorist attack on the US (multiple cities) and one small Kansas town dealing with the aftermath. The show promotes family values, the power of communities, and the harsh reality that millions of Americans would face if such an event were to ever occur." Fans are really nuts about the show. Literally. To protest the network's sudden cancellation last week, viewers have sent some 20,000 pounds of nuts to CBS headquarters.

The cyber-muscle behind this effort is NutsOnLine. They've got lots of stuff happening there (more than I can absorb this afternoon) so you should click on over and check it out.

There is one thing that I'd like to ask those of you reading this and especially if you're like me and want to keep 'Jerico' on CBS: go sign the on-line petition that's being sent to the people in charge (I think) at CBS. The petition is located here.

UPDATE: Well, I had hoped that CBS would see the error of their ways in cancelling 'Jericho', and do you know what? They were impressed enough with the e-mails sent in and with the shear amount of nuts shipped to their offices....so much that they're bringing it back - partially:

Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.

As a result, CBS has ordered seven episodes of "Jericho" for mid-season next year. In success, there is the potential for more. But, for there to be more "Jericho," we will need more viewers.

A loyal and passionate community has clearly formed around the show. But that community needs to grow. It needs to grow on the CBS Television Network, as well as on the many digital platforms where we make the show available.

We will count on you to rally around the show, to recruit new viewers with the same grass-roots energy, intensity and volume you have displayed in recent weeks.

At this time, I cannot tell you the specific date or time period that "Jericho" will return to our schedule. However, in the interim, we are working on several initiatives to help introduce the show to new audiences. This includes re-broadcasting "Jericho" on CBS this summer, streaming episodes and clips from these episodes across the CBS Audience Network (online), releasing the first season DVD on September 25 and continuing the story of Jericho in the digital world until the new episodes return. We will let you know specifics when we have them so you can pass them on.

On behalf of everyone at CBS, thank you for expressing your support of "Jericho" in such an extraordinary manner. Your protest was creative, sustained and very thoughtful and respectful in tone. You made a difference.

Sincerely,

Nina Tassler
President, CBS Entertainment

P.S. Please stop sending us nuts :-)

At minimum, I had hoped that they'd release the rights to the storyline and that maybe the entire story would be continued in books, but this is even better!! Now I have to hope that they get that 'warm-n-fuzzy feeling' however they get it so that they'll continue the series; at least, continue the series so that if they end it for good, they end it at a logical closure point.

June 05, 2007

Forty Years

CAIRO, Egypt - Forty years after Israel's stunning victory over three Arab armies, the defeat still lingers in the Arab world — so much so, some blame it for everything from a lack of democracy in the region to the rise of religious extremism.

On June 5, 1967, Israeli warplanes destroyed 400 aircraft belonging to Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq — most of them sitting on airport tarmacs. Egypt lost the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip, Syria gave up the Golan Heights, and Jordan relinquished the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Trying to minimize the defeat, Arabs have long called the Six Day War the "naksa," or "setback," but its impact remains a deep wound.

"A military defeat, that could have been limited, has been transformed to an overall defeat, represented by regimes ... and societies that fear change," Syrian writer Bakr Sedqi said in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

June 04, 2007

'Told Ya So....'

JUNE 4--One of the plotters behind the alleged scheme to explode gas pipelines at John F. Kennedy airport directed his co-conspirators to use Google Earth to obtain detailed aerial photos of the targeted facility. In a federal criminal complaint, an excerpt from which you'll find below, one of the accused, Abdul Kadir, reportedly told cohorts to use the popular satellite software after he determined that surveillance video shot by the men was "not sufficiently detailed for operational purposes." Kadir, a Guyanese citizen and former member of that country's parliament, made the Google suggestion during a February meeting with an alleged co-conspirator and a government informant (Kadir and three other men have been charged with planning the terror attack). According to the complaint, the snitch followed through and obtained the Google aerial images of JFK, which the men code named the "chicken farm." At a May 11 meeting in Guyana, Kadir was shown the surveillance video and the Google Earth maps of JFK by the informant and Russell Defreitas, one of those charged in the airport attack plan. Defreitas, the complaint notes, "identified, among other things, the fuel tank locations and air traffic control tower." For his part, Kadir "asked many questions about the maps, including the distance between the street and the fuel tanks."

I had pondered such a use of Google's Map functions back in April 2005 for exactly this reason. Some people had said that the use wouldn't have much effect, but catching a group before roasting everything around JFK Airport says different...

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Defeating Satan

KANSAS CITY, Kansas - More than 1,680 guitar players turned out, tuned up and took part in what organizers say was a world record rendition of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" — a song that was the first many of them ever learned.

Some came from as far away as California and Germany on Sunday to take part in a Kansas City radio station's effort to break a Guinness world record for the most people playing the same song simultaneously. The record had been 1,323 people playing the same song in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994.

"It was cool to see little kids playing, people who had been playing for their whole lives, like older people, and then I'm sure there were people like me who just picked up the song a couple days before," said Autumn McPherson, of Winfield, a senior at the University of Kansas.

Preliminary numbers show 1,683 people played the popular early '70s guitar riff on Sunday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

"I thought it was going to be kind of cheesy," said Hannah Koch, of Prairie Village, who came clad in an elf costume. "But after I got here, I got caught up in the excitement of it."

I wonder what the song would be if almost 1,700 bassists got together to blast one specific song. I'm thinking it would be 'Rock You Like a Hurricane'; when I first purchased by Fender P-Bass back in 1988 when I was in the Navy, my good friend who was teaching me the basics of music and playing once said to me You have to learn 'Rock You Like a Hurricane'.....ALL bass players know that one!!

And so working off of the chords that he knew from the song, together we figured out how to play it on my bass. I didn't really know the notes or for that matter what key it was in, but I learned where on the fretboard to put my fingers. To this day (19 years later), it's still a cool song to 'jam' along with to warm up.

SLIGHTLY GOOFY SIDE NOTE: When I first saw this over at LGF, I was reminded of one of the most hilarious sketches from the show 'The Kids in the Hall'. The sketch was called 'Bobby & the Devil' where a kid jamming in his basement defeats Satan by playing....'Smoke on the Water':

Bruce: (Playing guitar) E, A, B. E, A, B, A. The rift Bruce is plying is none other than Deep Purple's song "Smoke On The Water."

God, my wife and I would laugh our asses off watching that show.....and I'm talking laughing so hard that we'd almost asphyxiate ourselves. It's a complete shame that it's no longer produced.

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About Me

Mikey is a forty-something U.S. Navy veteran that is currently
taking a break from being a full-time student at UC San Diego
studying electrical engineering.

He's also a husband, a father, a former Independent/Democrat and is
currently dealing with dialysis and getting on the national
kidney transplant list.

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on the stupid things in life. If you do not like them or do not
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